Abigail Cothern Megan Keaton English 112 27 March 2013 Annotated Bibliography Richardson, Will.

"Are Your Students Ready for Future Work?." District Administration. (2013): n. page. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. <http://www.districtadministration.com/article/are-yourstudents-ready-future-work>. In this article, Richardson talks about his concern for his own teenage children and whether or not they are prepared for the future. He states, Its not that they are not smart enough or not hard working enough, or dont have the personalities to be successful in a career. Its more about if those careers will still be around in the long term, and whether or not my children can deal with the consequences if they are not. He then follows his concern with statistics from the US Department of Labor and their predictions for the future students of America. He then proposes the issues with Huge Job Shifts and how the world today is being taken over by technology and the web. He suggests that future of work for students compels different skills and dispositions than in current day. He says that is why students today need to focus more on transcendent skills that are more obligatory to know for the future and says While collaboration, creativity, resilience, and critical thinking are important. Its equally as important is the way we develop those skills. Then lastly, recommends the idea of Design Your Own Work. This says that students should create their own paths for their own future. His last argument is a good one, saying how schools and teachers are supplying a very well-known experience in return for a very different future. Cothern 1

Cothern 2 This article is written fairly well. He does a very good job with organization throughout his article. For example, he briefly argues more than one topic in a respectable way. Which also means he also has worthy transitions in his article. I would say what he did the best was backing up his own opinion, by using things such as statistics and proposing current issues that lead up to the issue as a whole. He then continues supporting his view by suggesting a solution to the problem by the name of Design Your Own Work. Lastly, he does a great job using examples to the issue via his own children. I plan on using this article in my final paper to explain why someone of an older generation might be concerned for the future generation (their children or students.) This also gives me a different view to look at for the side I will eventually be arguing. And the future of work for students requires different skills and dispositions. Thats why were focusing on the transcendent skills we know they will need no matter what. While collaboration, creativity, resilience, and critical thinking are important, equally important is the way we develop those skills. Schools are still delivering a highly predictable experience for a highly unpredictable future.

Washor, Elliot. "Personalized Learning: Preparing High School Students to Create Their Futures." Big Picture Learning . Chapter 1. Web. 28 Mar. 2013.

Cothern 3 <http://www.bigpicture.org/2002/12/when-learning-matters-using-learning-plans-to-educateone-student-at-a-time/>. This article is written by a man by the name of Elliot Washor, who gives his opinion on students being fully prepared for the future and a solution to make sure being prepared is the alternative. He starts off the article by making the point that a successful school is one in which learning matters the most, not the material being taught is what matters. He means, as long as students are learning, the material being taught isnt important. He then offers the solution called The Met. This is a school that starts with the students and this type of school is more interested in what the students WANT to learn than a preset education already picked out for them. Its a school that offers using real life experiences to build knowledge. This article starts off making necessary arguments. I believe Washor argues his opinion more intently than any of my other sources which shows credibility. The biggest strength of this article is how he made the purpose of the article is finding a solution to the issue. Most other authors just discuss the issue and state their opinion and leave it at that. My only question left with while reading this article was, what is a possible solution? Which he answers by the end of the article. The author makes it his job to leave the reader with no questions by answering any potential questions. For example, he introduces the issue of students being prepared for their future, gives his opinion on whether or not they are, states some underlying issues, and then proposes his solution. I plan on using this article in my final paper by adding yet another view point on how to make students of today prepared for their future. This article provides a whole new argument by

Cothern 4 proposing the Met schools. No other article suggested such a realistic solution and I can use this type of school to back up either view of mine.

Our schools need to be places that learning matters, but instead most of the time they are places, where only what is being taught matters.

By engaging its students in real projects with working adults, the Met prepares them for college, work, and citizenship.

A student-centered environment is the key to success for learning plans.

Costa, Art, and Bena Kallick. "21st Century Learning: Preparing Students for Complex Futures." Teach Thought. n. page. Web. <http://www.teachthought.com/learning/21stcentury-learning-preparing-students-for-complex-futures/>. This article written by two doctors covers what standards need to be met throughout courses, what those standards call for, their opinion on it, and the purpose of the overall article. The first paragraph explains what concepts and skills need to be met to create successful students. Then they clarify what such standards require. For example, more critical thinking, complex reasoning and problem solving. They also hope for less traditional learning. However, these doctors believe that the courses students take in school provide the correct path for aspiration of lifelong learning. They believe that the bigger outcomes need to be concentrated on, like future jobs. Then they continue to say the purpose of their article is the skills that need to be established in preparation for dealing with the issues of life beyond school; the future.

Cothern 5 This article has a great organizational flow because they will discuss something and go into more detail about it, while also stating their own opinion as well. Although they have good organization, they do fail to go into detail on some of their opinions. Which can make said opinion a tad bit confusing. Another weakness I found in their article would be repetition. I agreed with their article but they tended to repeat their opinion a few times while trying to back it up which made it less agreeable. I am going to use this article in my final paper to compare what tasks the authors of these articles think are necessary against other authors. It offers yet another view point, that We believe, however, that school subjects such as math, science, social sciences and literacy provide not only desirable conceptual understandings, they also provide opportunities with which students can experience wonderment, intrigue, and a desire for lifelong learning. They must develop the skills, stamina and resilience in preparation for dealing with the chaotic problems of life beyond school. The long range goal is to develop self-directed individuals with the capacity to respond rigorously to challenging problems in their future.

Hassan, Chris. "Many Students Not Ready for College and Workforce." University Directory . (2012): n. page. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://www.usnewsuniversitydirectory.com/articles/reportmany-students-not-ready-for-college-and-the_12595.asp&xgt;.

Cothern 6 This article talks about the ACT in relation to discovering how students are rightfully prepared for either college or the workforce. Based on statistics, 68% of students are in danger of failing in their future. This article discusses along with the ACT focusing on math and science, its found that it can also determine readiness for college and futures. John Witmore, an ACT chief executive officer stated that far too many students are falling short academically. His last point is that in order for students to be prepared correctly for their future they need to focus on science, math, engineering, and most importantly technology. I found this article very interesting! I think it was decently written. I think the strongest point of this article is the backing up of the opinions. The author does a great job of stating his opinion and then using facts to back up every detail. Another strength of this article is the information behind it. No other author has found a relation to why students are or are not prepared for their future. This author states that if students prepare themselves more for testing, that can help them in their future. Based on the reports findings, at least 60% of college-bound graduates are at risk of not succeeding in college and their careers. The advanced global economy requires American students to perform at their highest level to compete in the future job market and maintain the longterm economic security of the U.S." Jon Erickson, ACT Education president, thinks that individual states efforts to improve students performance in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Cothern 7 Excell, Tamra. "Preparing Students for the Future." SouthEast Education Network. (2013): n. page. Web. 4 Apr. 2013. <http://www.seenmagazine.us/articles/articledetail/articleid/569/preparing-students-for-the-future.asp&xgt; This article is divided into many paragraphs with subtitles that sum up the following paragraph. The sub titles consist of Creating Personalized Education Opportunities discussing how the purpose of education is to help find students their own paths and dreams. Student-Centered talks about a successful education is one that is focused on the students. Competency and Mastery-Based says that learning is based around such topics, letting students have extra time and support to master any tough concepts. Creativity and Critical Thinking stating that these two skills are required for a student to be prepared for the future. Teachers Role consists of the idea that instead of teachers taking an commanding role, instead they act as a role of mentors who provide proper direction to students. She concludes her article by saying students should Make Connections by classifying and understanding cause-and-effect relationships. The author does a great job throughout this article describing what students need to do to have a successful future. Each paragraph defines a new way to prepare students adequately for their future. She also has great organization by putting each paragraph in a chronological order by which aspects should be obtained before the others. The only weakness I noticed throughout this whole article is how she uses no evidence to back up her own opinions, which could eventually leave her opinions useless. I plan on using this article in my final paper because it was unique from all the other articles. It described point by point what steps need to be taken by students for a

Cothern 8 competitive future. I enjoy how Excell explained the process better than the other authors I used.

Educations purpose is to empower students to find their own paths to their own dreams; to create life-long learners who are prepared for both the modern world and the future.

Learning is competency- and mastery-based, allowing for extra time and assistance to master concepts a student finds difficult.

To adequately prepare students for a future that is difficult to even imagine, a personalized education program places the greatest value on creativity and the ability to engage in independent, critical thinking.